10 Epic Tattoo Homages to La Virgen de Guadalupe

On December 12, Mexicans, as well as people from other parts of Latin America, celebrate el Día de la Virgen de Guadalupe. In the 1500s, when Spanish conquerors were still struggling to convert the indigenous population to Catholicism, an indigenous man named Juan Diego saw the Virgin of Guadalupe appear in 1531 in Tepeyac in Mexico City.

Juan Diego saw a woman with darker skin and dark hair – someone who looked like him. The Basilica of the Virgen de Guadalupe was built in the same place that she appeared to Juan Diego, and on December 12, Mexicans start celebrating La Virgen as early as 4:30 a.m.

You don’t have to search too long on Google images to see different variations of La Virgen, so we thought we would focus on one very popular method of honoring her: tattoos.